Image caption
The Westgate crisis is the biggest security challenge yet to face President Kenyatta

Kenyan authorities face a delicate balancing act to limit social and economic fallout from the Westgate shopping mall attacks, while pressing ahead with military strikes on militants in Somalia, writes the BBC's Africa security correspondent Moses Rono.

Despite threats by Somali Islamists to carry out further attacks in the country, Kenya will not withdraw its troops from Somalia.

Islamists from the al-Shabab organisation, said to be affiliated to al-Qaeda, have claimed responsibility for the siege in Nairobi which left 72 dead - including five militants - and nearly 200 injured.

The crisis is the biggest security challenge yet to face President Uhuru Kenyatta, who inherited concerns linked to the spread of militant Islam when he took power in April this year.

Every country in the region should now take precautionsKorwa Adar, Professor at USIU

It is bound to have wide-ranging social and financial ramifications for Kenya, East Africa's biggest economy.

The Westgate attack marks an escalation in attacks blamed on - and at times claimed by - al-Shabab.

More than 30 people have been killed in a string of bomb and grenade attacks that began after Kenya sent troops into Somalia to hunt them down in October 2011.

Kenyan authorities had accused the Islamists of a series of kidnappings inside Kenya, which threatened to negatively affect one of its major foreign exchange earners - tourism.

New scenarios

In the wake of what is seen as retribution by al-Shabab and their sympathisers across Kenya, security was increased in tower blocks in Nairobi, churches in the countryside and even on public transport.

But that did not last long - and as attacks decreased, so did vigilance.

By the time of the Westgate siege, security checks had become perfunctory.

Image caption
Kenya's safaris and beaches attract more than 1.8 million tourists annually

Some observers say that any serious attacker could easily bypass the random checks at the entrances of the shopping malls.

This is only now likely to change as Kenyan authorities scramble to deal with the consequences of the attack.

In the aftermath, a number of scenarios are starting to emerge.

The attack is likely to embolden Islamist and al-Shabab sympathisers to widen attacks, possibly even beyond Kenya.

"No doubt the al-Qaeda and al-Shabab types will try similar attacks, especially in the East Africa region," said Prof Korwa Adar, who teaches international relations at the United States International University (USIU) in Nairobi.

"Every country in the region should now take precautions."

'Safe for tourists'

It is believed that one of the reasons for the attacks is to stir anti-Somali and anti-Islam sentiment in the mainly Christian nation of Kenya, and possibly cause a backlash similar to one which led to violence in 2011.

Then there were concerted efforts by local leaders and religious groups to foster religious and social harmony.

In the wake of the Westgate siege, some Muslims and Somalis have come forward to denounce the attack.

Kenya's timeline of terror

1998: US embassy in Nairobi bombed, killing 224 people - one of al-Qaeda's first international attacks